Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

The sociologist Matthew Desmond follows eight families in the poorest parts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath. The families differ in race and age, but all struggle with rent that consumes most of their small incomes, and many face eviction. Among them are Arleen, a Black single mother trying to keep a roof over her children’s heads. Based on a year of fieldwork, the book sets out to expose extreme poverty, the shortage of affordable housing and economic exploitation in the United States.